Archie Comics 2016
Written, Penciled & Coloured by Dan Parent
Inked by J. Bone
Lettered by Jack Morelli
Kevin Keller thought that life in NYC would be a dream come true—his own place, a high profile TV news gig and a Big Apple romance. But things don’t always go as planned…
Instead, Kevin’s found that his own place is hardly a luxurious Manhattan studio, and it’s not exactly his own place now that Veronica Lodge has moved in with him. His news gig is less-than-glamorous, and occasionally downright humiliating, and finding love in the big city is a lot harder than it looks on TV and in movies! But Kevin’s never been one to give up that easily! As long as he can make the time, he’ll make sure to have a vibrant social life, climb the corporate news chain ladder to the best of his abilities and, most of all, do everything he can to change people’s lives for the better. Well, he’s at least try to…
It’s almost a shame this is a digital exclusive series because what Dan is doing here should be read by millions of people. So many of us can relate to being in our twenties trying to set the world on fire, get our lives together and having fun along the way. It never does seem to work out like we want it to at that age, the partying gets in the way of work that gets in the way of having a social life etc…
Dan being who he is and his ability to write Kevin’s attempts at a love life with all that goes right and wrong with it are universal whether you’re gay or straight or somewhere in between. Of course seeing what happens at Yoga well that’s many of our nightmares made real and who hasn’t done that at an inopportune moment in our lives? I know I have and yes as embarrassing as it was I lived through it. So that we can appreciate the humour of the situation as well that’s just icing on the cake.
I think that Dan can take the traditional Archie sensibility and translate that to a character in new city and new situations and keep as real as he does is why I love reading his work. I mean there’s so much going on here with Kevin at work, living with Veronica, and trying ever so elusively to find love and yet it all comes across as the perfect slices of life that everyone can relate to.
Okay i’ll never be one who had his chest waxed on television against his will but that’s part of what makes watching Kevin’s life so much fun. Trying to find that balance of being true to himself and trying to make it in the business, not rocking the boat, is one of the harder parts of growing into an adult.
The very special thing he does for the fan of his is one of those wonderfully emotional things that we’d all like to think we’d do. That his current platform allows him to help a young man overcome his fears and anxiety of being different and takes that head on and teaches the young man a lesson he’ll never forget, both will never forget, well it’s the kind of message we should all heed. Be who you are, don’t apologise for it and let your light shine brightly because you never know who will need that light to see by and know they aren’t alone.
Dan is amazing and that this comes across as the average twenty something trying to find that balance in life to make himself happy couldn’t be done any better!